UNDP in Africa

6 Develop a global partnership for development

Where are we?

Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to decline from $36.4 billion in 2012 to $36.3 billion by 2016.

Between 2011 and 2012, bilateral ODA to Africa fell 9.9 per cent in real terms.

Establishing a global partnership for development is critical for realizing the MDGs. Specifically, providing ODA to developing countries is an important source of finance for the MDG interventions, and thus their progress. As a percentage of their combined gross national incomes, ODA to developing countries and least developed countries in general declined 4 per cent in real terms in 2012 following a 3 per cent decline in 2011.

In real terms, bilateral ODA to Africa also declined in 2012. Total ODA to all African landlocked developing countries increased an average of only 2 per cent in nominal terms over 2009–2010. These trends can be attributed in part to the sovereign debt crisis and are likely to continue into 2016.

Developed country imports from developing countries remained largely unchanged in 2010. However, Africa’s progress on information and communications technology is encouraging. The growing importance of the Internet, expanding use of mobile phones and swelling telecommunications investments in Africa have improved the continent’s information and communications technology landscape.